Empire [Paperback]

Empire takes place a century from now, long after the rise of the plague that caused the dead to rise. These zombies are a bit different than what we have seen in other works though: the dead have always had the ability to rise up when near places that are a "source" of supernatural power, but the plague came because the power of the source was laced with a deadly virus that allows their bites to transfer their infection, allowing them to perpetuate it and carry it through the entire human population. These zombies are tougher--some are faster, stronger, and continue to regain near living physical capabilities as they feed on the living. You can't just shoot 'em in the head and walk away, you need to sever the head and burn them...always burn them.
The story takes place in Jefferson Harbor, Louisiana near one of the sources of supernatural undead energy and likely the origin point of the plague. The military has pulled out, giving up on yet another coastal community as the remnants of the US government continues to consolidate its shrinking power to the north inside walled in cities. A few citizen's choose to remain behind, ignoring the goverment's pleas to go with them as the city is abandoned. Those that choose to stay include a cop who wants to protect those who have decided to stay, a rock group that has traveled the country trying to offer a bit of a distraction from the plague for the troops and citizens who struggle onward, a man who believes he understands the true power behind the source and wants to tap into it for his own evil purposes, and a dark visitor, the grim reaper, who wants to put a stop to the undead who have defied his scythe for far too long.
David Dunwoody has created a vibrant and creative tale of the undead, fresh with new ideas and yet still unleashing the vast flow of gruesome goodness a fan of zombie fiction craves. The grim reaper is by far one of the most traditional symbols of death but tying him into this story was definitely interesting and unique amongst the zombie tales I have read over the past few years. That this story takes place over a century beyond the inception of the plague also provides us with a different viewpoint than the traditional outbreak tale, with the entire cast of characters having lived with the undead their entire lives--death is all around them, waiting for them everywhere they look. They have a resigned nature to them, an acceptance that they are living quite possibly at the end of days. Most of the characters just want to hold on to what little life they have left, even if they know their end is coming soon.
While I liked the creativity of this plot, I guess my one issue would have to be with what I would call the grand delusions of Baron Tetch. A mad genius communing with old world powers that ooze out of the swamp close to where he lives, he cuts a disturbing figure of man who wishes to control the dead and create his own empire where he stands supreme above them. His desire for power should have been more sweeping, more awe inspiring. Somehow I felt he was more of just a puny madman than a wicked sorcerer communing with the old gods in a way that would bring down the wrath of Death himself. But this is a minor issue and does not take away from this gritty tale of life, death, and afterdeath. We have characters that feel real and complicated--they understand what they face and that more than likely they won't make it out alive but they keep on fighting, clinging to every bit of living they have remaining in them while the world around them crumbles. I particularly liked the character Vorhees, who seemed tenacious and determined, willing to sacrifice himself to salvage the unsalvageable, to save anyone he could regardless of the massive odds stacked against him.
A good read and a new and creative slant on the traditional zombie tale.

First off, great concept. I love horror/living dead novels and this one took it in an interesting direction. The Grim Reaper getting down to buisness reclaiming the world of the dead one walking corpse at a time, awesome. Only snippets of him throughout the novel, not so much. The other survivors of the zombie apocalypse were just throw away characters or lunch for the undead hoardes. I had a hard time caring about the Baron and his minions as well. They just did not feel to threatening. (One exception, Sawbones. He was cool.) I just kept waiting for more about the reaper. Both his walking corpse elimination, interatction with the dying and a little girl were entertaining and facinating. The good stuff, lots of gore, some chills and cool concept. The bad stuff, too short, none of the human survivors serve any real purpose other than lunch (Lilly is the exception), a lot of stuff thrown at you that feels kind of tacked on (virus zombie vs. source zombie vs. well fed zombie vs. ferals) I like the idea of different classes of zombie, but this did not feel right. Plus, how do you take away the head shot???? That is zombie 101!!! I hope David expands his reaper character in future stories (if he reconects with Lilly or not). I will reccommend this to fans of the living dead novels such as The Rising, Cell, City of the Dead. As to regular horror, eh, you might be put off.

This could have been a really good book. The author is a competent writer, and has a strikingly original idea about how the Grim Reaper would deeply resent being cheated out of his task by an undead virus. Could have been . . . but isn't. Here's what went wrong.
- Uses the cookie-cutter "guess who is going to die next" formula. Like countless bad slasher movies, here you have a cast of characters, and have to try to guess who gets killed off next, and who will live to the end.
- Characters appear with no real purpose. Most of the action takes place in town, but there is a small Army group that stayed behind after the main force left, and spends most of its time outside town. They have no place whatever in the main story. It's like an additional short story that got chopped into pieces, and a piece inserted into the novel every chapter or so.
- Logic hole #1. The zombies here are propagated by getting bitten by another zombie, which passes along a virus. (Except zombies who are caused by exposure to "the Source", but that is pretty much an unexplored distinction.) Zombies gain energy by eating people, and the more they eat, the more energetic and "healthy" they become. But unlike the prototype Romero zombies, these zombies can't be killed with a head shot, because their flesh regenerates. So, a virus gives people the ability to regenerate flesh, bones, and organs? Say, that's a pretty good trick. And once a zombie is shot in the head, and the brain is gone, how does it function? Is the virus intelligent?
- Logic hole #2. The story is set 100 years after the outbreak. But the zombie virus is a cross-species one. It affects people, animals, fish, and amphibians. It may affect insects; that's hinted at but not really clear. With the food chain pretty much wiped out, and humans serving as a food source for an endless horde of zombie humans, birds, rats, dogs, mice, etc, is there any chance there would be life on earth after 100 years? Nope, maybe 10-20 years max.
- Death makes an innovative character, but is pretty much a bit player. The twist on Death's fate near the end is ingenious, but the author doesn't really do much with it.
- Sadly, like many zombie books, this is clearly part 1 in a multi-part series of books. When you're paying for a fairly short book (280 pages, but large type on small pages), at twice the cost of a normal paperback book, you have the right to expect better.

With every zombie novel, like horror or sci-fi, you have to suspend disbelief to an extent. But once you establish the parameters for your little corner of hell, then the rest of the story should logically fit within your constraints. That doesn't happen here. It makes an OK read if you can find it at a library, but just isn't worth the cost to buy a copy.

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